Obituary for An Ear

Rebecca’s Right Ear died unexpectedly in the early hours of July 16, 2020, at age almost-42, of unknown causes. 

Born along with the rest of Rebecca on September 16, 1978, Rebecca’s Right Ear was healthy and intact for its entire life until this sudden illness, with the exception of a voluntary cosmetic piercing on its 13th birthday.

Rebecca’s Right Ear – along with its partner, Rebecca’s Left Ear – learned to distinguish musical notes and rhythms in its early years, at “Musical Trolley” classes for preschoolers. At age 6, it took a leading role in the Suzuki method of learning music, which relies on daily listening to recordings of songs in the Suzuki repertoire. Vital information shared by the Ears with Rebecca’s Brain helped Rebecca’s Fingers learn to play songs such as “Mississippi Hot Dog” and “Claire de Lune.” After establishing a strong collaboration in these years of piano lessons, the ensemble later welcomed Rebecca’s Mouth in learning to play the flute, which led to nearly a decade of participation in school bands and orchestras, including a brief and taxing few months trying to play the oboe. These years of instrumental music, along with singing in school and church choirs, led Rebecca's Ears to collectively gain a reputation as being "a good ear" for distinguishing harmonies and improvising.

Both Ears were also pivotal in maintaining Rebecca’s status as an honors student in elementary school, secondary school, and college, and in going on to earn a master’s degree. They paid (mostly) good attention through countless classes, lectures and seminars, including language studies in Latin, Italian, French, Hebrew, and Greek.

The summer of 1999 was particularly adventurous for Rebecca’s Right Ear when it spent several weeks in Haiti, teaching music and conversing in basic French. Subsequent travels in Burma, Italy, Austria, Israel, and walking El Camino de Santiago in Spain presented auditory challenges in other languages. 

A decade of work in journalism on a college newspaper and then as editor of the alumni magazine of The McCallie School depended heavily on the Ears. They worked closely with Rebecca’s Brain and Rebecca’s Heart to identify and distill the essence and deeper meaning of what was shared by the subjects of feature stories. These listening skills proved crucial in later years working as a priest. In particular, one summer as a hospital chaplain was particularly challenging and insightful for Rebecca’s Ears and Rebecca’s Heart. 

Some of the sounds Rebecca’s Right Ear will miss most are ocean waves, cats purring, crickets on a summer evening, the scratch of a record player’s needle touching down, an orchestra warming up, rainfall, and the men’s vocal ensemble Cantus. Its least favorite sounds were car alarms, the multiple ice cream trucks in its neighborhood, snoring, and that bald white guy who is a commentator for basketball games on ESPN. 

Rebecca’s Right Ear is survived by its lifelong companion, Rebecca’s Left Ear, and all other original parts of her body. It is preceded in death by 15 trillion skin cells, a million hairs, countless nail clippings, a few questionable moles, one uterine polyp, and one ovarian cyst.